Kuchipudi Rangapravesam By Aparna

Chaitanya Art Theatres is organising the Kuchipudi Rangapravesam of Rayaprolu Aparna Kameshwari, on 7th December, at the Ravindra Bharathi auditorium. Aparna, a disciple of Pasumarti Ramalinga Sastry, will start the recital with a Girijankastita - an invocatory dance in praise of Lord Ganesha - in Mohana ragam and Adi talam.

This will be followed by a Jatiswaram on Lord Krishna in Athana Ragam and Adi talam, praising the Dashavataras, and a keertana on Lord Rama - Namo Namo Raghukula Nayaka in Naata ragam and Rupaka talam - a Lingashtakam in Kalyani ragam and Adi talam, and finally a Tarangam - Nanda Nandana Gopala in Ragamalika ragam and Adi talam.

The nattuvangam for the ballet is by Guru Pasumarti Ramalinga Sastry, and the vocal support will be provided by P Padma Sastry and D S V Sastry. Rajagopalachari on the mridangam, Rayaprolu Sudhakar on the veena and V D S Murali on the flute complete the rest of the orchestra.

The guests for the evening are the legendary Carnatic vocalist Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, versatile dancer Kalaimamani Dr. Saraswati, Kuchipudi Yakshagana Kulapathi Pasumarthi Venugopalakrishna Sarma and renowned Kuchipudi dancer and choreographer Dr. Jonnalagadda Anuradha.

Aparna Kameswari hails from a family of musicians. Her mother R Lakshmi Prasanna is an established Carnatic musician, and her pedananna Mangalampalli Surya Deepthi is a popular classical A-grade violin artiste who has accompanied almost all the renowned musicians of India.

Aparna has been a keen learner since her childhood, and this prompted her parents to initiate her into dance at a tender age, under the tutelage of Krishna Kumari. Currently she is pursuing and learning the nuances of this art form under the guidance of Guru Pasumarthi Ramalinga Sastry.

Aparna has showcased her talents on many platforms in Andhra Pradesh - Shivam, Vemulavada Devasthanam, Yadagirigutta and Guntur. Currently she participates in major productions choreographed by her Guru Ramalinga Sastry. She successfully completed the dance certificate course conducted by Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University in first division, and is currently doing her junior intermediate.

Guru Pasumarthy Ramalinga Sastry is a great exponent of Kuchipudi, descending from the Kuchipudi traditional family. Erudite and imaginative, Sastry's talents blossomed at the prestigious institution Kalakshetra in Chennai in Bharatanatyam. He has trained many students in Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam. He choreographed many ballets of high standards. He is now working in the Department of Dance, University of Hyderabad.

Please contact K K Raja of Chaitanya Art Theatres, at 98852-81545 for further details.